Fishing creel

ABSTRACT

A device for carrying fish comprising a wicker basket or the like having an upper cover of the same material as the sides, the bottom portion being hinged so as to quickly dump the fish therefrom. The bottom wall includes a plurality of openings for drainage of water and has a pair of spaced apart slotted openings for engaging one end of springs, the other end of springs engaging the upper edge of the basket portion of the device in order to keep the bottom wall closed.

United States Patent Herdwig [451 Sept. 19, 1972 FISHING CREEL [72] Inventor: Harold O. Herdwig, 5985 Lemon St., E. Petersburg, Pa. 17520 [22] Filed: May 14, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 37,145

[52] US. Cl. ..43/54.5 R, 220/55 D [51] Int. Cl. ..A0lk 97/00 [58] Field of Search ..43/54.5 11,55; 224/5 G; 220/55 D, 55 H [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,388,187 8/1921 Marble ..43/54.5 R 2,630,651 3/1953 McGee ..43/55 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 235,991 5/1945 Switzerland ..220/55 D Primary Examiner-Samuel Koren Assistant ExaminerDaniel J. Leach Attorney-James J. Kennedy [5 7] ABSTRACT A device for carrying fish comprising a wicker basket or the like having an upper cover of the same material as the sides, the bottom portion being hinged so as to quickly dump the fish therefrom. The bottom wall includes a plurality of openings for drainage of water and has a pair of spaced apart slotted openings for engaging one end of springs, the other end of springs engaging the upper edge of the basket portion of the device in order to keep the bottom wall closed.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures FISHING CREEL This invention relates to carrying devices for fish.

It is therefore the primary purpose of this invention to provide a fisherman's creel which will have a bottom wall of metal material that will be hinged to the creel and will be held closed by spring means.

Another object of this invention is to provide a creel of the type described which will be of such construction so that it may be easily and quickly cleaned by the top portion being opened as well as the bottom wall, a pair of springs serving to keep the bottom wall closed by hookingly engaging slots within the bottom wall at one end and hookingly engaging the top portion at their other end.

Other objects of the'present invention are to provide a fishermans creel which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, rugged in construction, easy to use and efficient in operation.

These and other objects will be readily evident upon a study of the following specification and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the present invention shown in elevation with the bottom wall closed;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of FIG. 1

showing the bottom wall in partially open position with e the springs shown disengaged from the upper portion of the article;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical view of one of the spring members shown removed from the article; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the bottom wall shown removed from the invention.

According to this invention, a fishermans creel 10 is shown to include a hollow basket 11 made of wicker work or other material. Basket 11 is provided with a top cover 12 which is hinged (the hinges not shown) to the rear of basket 11. Cover 12 is also provided with an opening 13 in which to place the fish that are caught by the fisherman. An eye 14 on either side of basket 11,

secures the carrying strap 15. Creel 10 is provided with a bottom wall 16 which is made of a suitable metal or other material and a pair of hinges 17 are secured to one edge of bottom wall 16, the other sides of hinges 17 being secured to the rear of basket 11. A pair of spaced apart and elongated slots 18 through bottom wall 16 receive the swivel rings 19 of coil springs 20, the other ends of coil springs 20 being provided with hooks 21 which engage the upper edge of basket 11 thus keeping the bottom wall 16 closed. When the bottom wall 16 is opened the hooks 21 should be disengaged from the upper edge of basket 11, the bottom wall 16 being opened to quickly dump the fish from within basket 1 l and is also opened in order to provide a means of easily and thoroughly cleaning creel 10. A plurality of spaced apart openings 22 through bottom wall 16 provides drainage means for the interior of the basket 1 1.

What I claim is:

l. A fishing creel comprising, in combination, a basket, a top cover connected along one edge to said basket by first hinge means and a bottom portion connected to said basket by second hinge means and spring means, said spring means being pivotally connected by one end thereof to the free edge of said bottom portion and by the other end to the free edge of said top cover by a hooked portion whereby the hooked portion of said spring means may be disconnected from said top cover permitting said bottom portion to open by swinginsabo t said second hinges to ole n out the creel.

. A rshmg creel, as recited in c arm 1, wherein said spring means includes a pair of springs having a ring at one end thereof for pivotally connecting said springs to said bottom portion.

3. A fishing creel, as recited in claim 2, wherein said bottom portion is provided with a plurality of drain apertures and a pair of spaced apart slots, said slots being disposed along an edge opposite the hinge means and adapted to receive said spring rings. 

1. A fishing creel comprising, in combination, a basket, a top cover connected along one edge to said basket by first hinge means and a bottom portion connected to said basket by second hinge means and spring means, said spring means being pivotally connected by one end thereof to the free edge of Said bottom portion and by the other end to the free edge of said top cover by a hooked portion whereby the hooked portion of said spring means may be disconnected from said top cover permitting said bottom portion to open by swinging about said second hinges to clean out the creel.
 2. A fishing creel, as recited in claim 1, wherein said spring means includes a pair of springs having a ring at one end thereof for pivotally connecting said springs to said bottom portion.
 3. A fishing creel, as recited in claim 2, wherein said bottom portion is provided with a plurality of drain apertures and a pair of spaced apart slots, said slots being disposed along an edge opposite the hinge means and adapted to receive said spring rings. 